Stevo's Sting - Tigerland roars as Magpies face crossroad

PLAYERS will often tell you it is harder to get a kick in the VFL than the AFL.

The conditions can be swirly out in the burbs, and the delivery is never as pure even in perfect weather.

When you're a forward, who is used to being hit up cleanly on the lead, the troubles in the twos are magnified.

Some players are never going to rip it apart at that level, amid the congestion and the attention being an AFL player in exile brings.

Maybe that's just Travis Cloke's lot. We are going to be waiting a while for a 15 mark, five-goal performance in the lower level.

The effort has been there, but Cloke was beaten on Saturday at Geelong, kicking four behinds from 12 disposals.

The VFL club plays Williamstown at the Holden Centre this Saturday, and given all the recent messaging from Nathan Buckley, Cloke looks destined to be part of that.

But the following week, it gets interesting. The VFL Pies have a bye, leaving Cloke in nowhere land.

If Cloke gets anywhere near it this week, and continues to work and present, do the Pies pull the trigger and put him back in for the Round 10 AFL clash with the Bulldogs at the MCG?

It surely would be pointless for him to have a week off.

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Ignore him for selection against the Dogs and the VFL exile looks like dragging on for some time yet.

It's tough going out in the burbs. It might be easier for Cloke to flick the switch at the top end of town.

DAMIEN Hardwick's celebration in the coaches' box was captured in all its glory by the cameras, but Richmond's chief bean counter would've been just as elated as Sam Lloyd's kick sailed through on Saturday night.

Tigers fans like to be known as the most loyal in the competition, but crowd numbers (and by extension gate receipts) have been down for yellow and black home games at the MCG this season.

Form will always have an impact on numbers, and another loss would have been a bitter blow to the bottom line.

The numbers at the G this year have been a little concerning.

Attracting only 49,678 against the Hawks at the MCG on a Friday night in Round 7 was a red flag. At the start of the year, that would have been penciled in for 60,000 plus.

The crowd of 36,140 on Saturday night was just passable given the Swans' solid support base in Melbourne.

And only 27,077 turned up for the clash with the Power in Round 6. Again, unders.

The sample is still smallish, and there are bigger games to come, but the club's average home crowd is about 10,000 down on last year's average across the season.

At 43,685 (boosted by the season opener against Carlton in Round 1), the average looks healthy, but a loss to the Swans would have left the number crunchers numb.

The fans who have drifted away in the past 4-6 weeks must now get back on board.

JESSE Hogan's goal-kicking stats look OK, but his technique has to be of concern.

The ball drop and swerve out to the right looked even more dramatic than normal against the Dogs on Sunday.

His assist work (quick hands near goal) was first class, but Hogan is paid to slot set shots.

If he can manage to be an elite set shot kick throughout his career with that technique the bloke really will go down as a freak.

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THRILLED that Sam Lloyd nailed his pressure set shot with a far smoother action.

He was always odds on to seize the moment, for he is a footballer's footballer, if that makes sense.

Lloyd is not an extraordinary athlete, he just knows where the goals are. He's an 80s style craftsman who kicked bags at lower levels and had to earn his spot as a mature age pick up.

He's a pro in the mould of Tory Dickson, who also bagged goals in the bush and burbs before finally earning a shot on the big stage. You'd back Dickson in, too.

More glorified high picks, with more physical attributes, may have missed.

Quite simply, Lloyd just knew how to get it done. It was so fluent and clinical ... he didn't even take extra time to settle. He simply went back and slotted it post high. Flush.